WINTERVILLE — A facility coming to Pitt Community College in 2025 will more than double the capacity of the state’s largest welding program and strengthen the foundation of the local workforce, officials said at a June 28 groundbreaking ceremony.
About 30 county, state and college officials gathered near the Minges-Overton Baseball Complex at Pitt Community College along with students and staff to celebrate the start of the $17.7 million Welding Technology Building.
“It’s amazing to see needs identified, collaboration between partners and a solution come out of the ground,” Pitt County Manager Janis Gallagher said. “This new building is more than a structure, it is a beacon of opportunity and hope.”
Welding is foundational to countless industries, Gallagher said, and learning the needed skills will give students the expertise they need to excel in the workforce.
Pitt Community College has the largest welding education program in the state, with about 400 students enrolled during the spring 2024 semester, said Charles Ellis, chairman of PCC’s Board of Trustees.
However, only 185 students attended classes on campus, he said. The remaining students trained in high school feeder programs.
The new 35,000-square-foot building will feature 96 welding bays compared to the 46 in the current 12,500-foot facility, Ellis said. The new building also will have two fabrication shops and space for robotics training.
However, the biggest attraction in the new building is its air conditioning system, said instructor Charlie Newkirk and two of his students.
“We do not have any AC in the other building and we’ve had some hot summers. Ten hot summers to be exact,” Newkirk said.
“All my gear from this week is still soaking wet,” said Ben McAndrew, who joined the welding program in the summer of 2023 and will soon graduate. “AC is going to be a bonus. That and having space. It gets crowded and we’re tripping over each other sometimes.”
“The students will have space,” Newkirk said. “We struggle with space right now, sometimes they have to double up and sometimes they don’t have the equipment and tools they need.”
McAndrew and student Jamison Garris will both graduate from the program before the building is complete. But by being PCC alumni they will have access to use the new space to practice for job interviews and refine their skills.
Garris, who will complete the program this summer, said he joined the welding program after high school because he received a scholarship and liked welding in high school.
McAndrew was a retail butcher who first learned to weld as a teenager.
“It’s something I’ve always been interested in, making things, and I really got tired of being a retail butcher, so I walked away from a career doing that into something new,” he said. “I’m trading in the cold for a nice sunny day.”
Dickie Thompson, executive vice president of J.M. Thompson, the project’s general contractor, said construction should begin in about a month, once the Winterville inspections department approves the plans. Construction should be complete in 14-15 months.
Thompson said his firm always tries to hire local people when they begin a job. However, welders have to be certified in commercial construction projects.
“When you go to this program here, you’ll be able to get your certification so that’s an advantage,” Thompson said.
Retiring PCC President Lawrence L. Rouse used Friday’s ceremony to honor the late Roy Lanier, who spent 35 years as a welding instruction and department chairman.
Lanier was the recipient of many honors, Rouse said, including the Howard E. Adkins Member Instructor award and District Educator award from the American Welding Society and PCC’s Joseph B. Downing Award for Excellence in Teaching. Lanier also served as president and chairman of the American Welding Society, Rouse said.
Ellis called Friday’s groundbreaking bittersweet because it was the final event for Rouse, who’s last day was Sunday.
“I am very happy that I can leave on a very positive note and we are doing something that’s going to increase the capacity of Pitt Community College, which has always been my goal as president here,” he said. “I’m just delighted, happy and certainly optimistic about the future.”
Rouse said he’s excited the facility will include a robotics lab because more business and industry is incorporating robotics into their production.
“But it won’t replace the person with the skills on how to operate,” Rouse said. “People say robots are going to take over, but, no, you have to have people to program and make sure they are operating.”
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